Nolan on miltax: ‘I didn’t see a stake through its heart’

No, it certainly won’t be in the budget this year and she’s unsure how it might get extended this year — but Assembly Education Chairwoman Cathy Nolan, like the two-thirds of her fellow Assembly Democrats who signed a letter supporting it, said she hasn’t given up hope on the so-called millionaires’ tax.

“I didn’t see a stake through its heart yet,” the Queens Democrat said following this morning’s joint conference committee on education.

Nolan and GOP Sen. John Flanagan ran through the numbers in the 2011 budget which includes approximately $270 million in restorations as well as money restored for special 4201 deaf and blind schools, summer school and special education programs that had previously been removed from the budget.

Aside from that, the atmosphere there was one of quiet resignation with lawmakers saying they were thankful for the $270 million restoration.

When asked if the budget, which still amounts to the second straight year of school aid cuts, would avert the layoffs that school officials across the state are coming, lawmakers said it’s up to individual districts. “School districts have a lot of latitude,” she said, referring to how they can allocate their resources.

Funding for some phases of education, such as libraries and teacher training centers (which are of special interest to teacher unions), remains up for grabs, said Flanagan.

As for precisely which of the state’s nearly 700 districts get what, that will become clearer with the school aid runs, but the Division of Budget says those probably won’t be ready at this point until Wednesday or Thursday, which is when the final budget vote will likely happen.